Missouri Yields Fall as China Stops U.S. Purchases

Missouri's 2025 soybean crop saw a wet spring followed by severe late-summer drought and heat that produced smaller seed size and reduced yields by about 3–7 bushels per acre in dryland fields, especially for later-planted beans, though farmers do not expect total crop failure. China has largely halted purchases of U.S. soybeans this autumn and is sourcing large volumes from South America (notably Argentina and Brazil), a shift that has cost American growers billions and helped push soy futures toward about $10 a bushel. Traders point to Argentina’s temporary export tax waiver and Brazil’s expanding crop as key drivers of China’s buying shift, keeping global supplies ample and pressuring soybean meal prices and processing margins. President Trump said he will press Chinese President Xi Jinping on soybean purchases at the upcoming APEC meeting and pledged to use a portion of tariff revenue to help farmers; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said “substantial support” is coming and an Oval Office announcement is expected next week. Markets briefly rebounded after the president’s comments but futures remained near multiweek lows amid steady harvest progress, weak export momentum and rising South American output. Lawmakers and farm groups are pressing for relief or restored market access, and a possible U.S. government shutdown may delay key USDA data that would further inform markets.